14 of the world's most fascinating remote places

9. Kerguelen Islands

This Indian Ocean archipelago, with little more than 100 residents during the summer months, is 830 miles from the tiny Alfred Faure scientific station in Île de la Possession, but otherwise 2,100 miles from the coast of Madagascar, the nearest inhabited place.

It’s windy (Captain Cook nicknamed it Desolation Island), with speeds averaging 68mph. Butterflies on the remote island have evolved to be wingless, to prevent them being blown out to sea. On an unrelated note, the main island, Grande Terre, has an established feral cat population.